Sarah Leah Whitson
The rehabilitation of Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman from global pariah to global patron is one of the most extraordinary political feats of our time. This week, the crown prince will triumphantly return to Washington after nearly a decade of banishment. He is expected to dole out $600 billion in promised investments in U.S. companies and, as part of this exchange, obtain a long-desired security guarantee from the United States. This may well be a great deal for the corporations that stand to benefit from the lavish shopping spree, but it remains a raw and risky deal for the American people, who will be stuck with the bill.
In the aftermath of the 2018 murder of DAWN founder Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives, Mohammed bin Salman faced global sanctions and isolation. Corporate executives pulled out of Riyadh investment conferences, official state visits were suspended, and megadeals with the Saudi government were canceled. The Trump administration sanctioned 17 of those involved in the murder in November 2018.
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